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Summary of the impact

From 1995 Professor Munjiza's research at QMUL has led to the development
of a series of algorithms which can predict the movement and relationship
between objects. These algorithms have been commercialised by a range of
international engineering and software companies including Orica, the
world's leading blasting systems provider (via their MBM software
package), and the software modelling company, Dassault Systems (via their
Abaqus software). Through these commercialisation routes Munjiza's work
has generated significant economic impact which is global in nature. For
example, his predictive algorithms have enabled safer, more productive
blast mining for Orica's clients — in one mine alone, software based on
Munjiza's modelling approach has meant a 10% increase in productivity, a
7% reduction in costs and an annual saving of $2.8 million. It has also
been used in Dassault Systems' Abaqus modelling software, which is the
world's leading generic simulation software used to solve a wide variety
of industrial problems across the defence, automobile, construction,
aerospace and chemicals sectors with associated economic impact.

Underpinning research

Between 1995 and 2004 Professor Antonio Munjiza (QMUL 1995-present), a
computational engineer, conducted research that led to the development of
the combined finite discrete element method [he has written three
monographs on the subject, see s.3]. As part of a project with ICI (now
Orica), this method was used to produce a software package for rock
blasting (MBM). Following further research he developed the next
generation of related algorithms, which included No Binary Search (NBS)
and a number of open-source software packages called `Y'. In 2010, NBS
became a part of Dassault Systems' Abaqus Explicit modelling software
package, incorporated within their Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH)
method suited for solving fluid and large strain Lagrangian simulations.

Although finite element methods were well established in many branches of
engineering and routinely used in the solution of large-scale industrial
problems, the finite element description is not the most appropriate
model. Munjiza's contribution was to marry discrete and finite elements
into predictive models for progressive fractures. The combined
finite/discrete element (FDEM) approach, in which the problem is analysed
by a combination of the two methods, is particularly suited to problems in
which progressive fracturing takes place as is the case in rock blasting
situations and missile impact situations [1, 2]. Munjiza's research has
focused on the numerical modelling of particulate processes in
environmental science. While most discontinuum modelling uses spheres to
represent particles, his work has led to developments that tackle the
complexity of realistically shaped bodies such as those exhibited by rock
fragments [3].

Munjiza's work has also led to efficient computational simulation of
these fracture mechanics [4], which has resulted in advances in modelling
software, both in industry and in the research sector. He has invented a
number of original algorithmic solvers such as NBS linear search, MR
linear search (widely employed in molecular dynamics), a combined
single-smeared approach to fracture, and several others. These methods
require less computational resource (in terms of time and memory) than
their predecessors, while still resulting in faithful models of the
interaction between molecules, for example, or the propagation of
fractures from an explosion.

A number of research institutions around the world have developed
research software using FDEM in the form of Y-code, which is open source
enabling technology developed by Munjiza. For instance Munjiza, in
collaboration with the University of Toronto has developed Y-geo, Y-gui
and Y-blast based on Y [5]. Imperial College London, in collaboration with
Munjiza, have developed VGEST based on Y. Through these software
developments the technology is now being used across a variety of
industrial sectors, such as mining, petroleum, mineral processing and
aerospace. Further, several government labs in the USA are pursuing
research based on Munjiza's FDEM.

Details of the impact

Munjiza's fracture modelling algorithms are used to develop predictive
simulation software for a wide range of industries including the defence,
automobile, construction, aerospace and chemicals industries. But they
have generated greatest impact in the global mining industry, where his
research into finite and discrete element modelling (FDEM) results in more
accurate and detailed predictions of blast mechanics, which are
computationally tractable. Predictive software based on Munjiza's
algorithms has generated commercial and economic impact for major mining
companies through increased productivity, a reduction in extraction costs
resulting in enhanced profitability for the companies and reduced
commodity price for customers. Further, the safety of the process is
improved, delivering benefit to employees working within the mine.

Software used in the mining industry to accurately predict blasting
Munjiza's fracture modelling methods are widely used in the multi-billion
dollar global mining and extraction industries. Many engineering and
extraction activities are "one-shot" opportunities that, if they go wrong,
cannot be repeated. Take, for example, the blasting of a rock face in open
cut mining. The resulting fragments of ore must be within a certain range
of sizes if they are to be suitable for onward processing. Until the
introduction of the FDEM modelling approach, the development of a blast
design (placing and timing charges of explosives so that the resulting
explosion creates the desired pattern of fractures) was impossible to
predict accurately. Munjiza's algorithms, based on his FDEM methods, have
enabled the development of modelling software, which can predict the
result of explosions in both time and space with sufficient accuracy that
it can be used to design highly productive and safer blasts, for example
via Orica's MBM package and Abaqus Explicit modelling software used by
Coffey Mining.

Orica and the MBM package
Orica is a leading multinational corporation that has more than 15,000
employees and an annual revenue in 2010 of $6.5 billion. The company
provides commercial blasting systems, mining and tunneling support systems
in more than 50 countries worldwide. Orica's Mining Services Division is
the world's largest single supplier of commercial explosives and blasting
systems to the mining, quarrying and infrastructure sectors.

Orica is able to provide accurate blast designs for their customers
worldwide using their Mechanistic Blasting Model (MBM) package, which is
based on Munjiza's algorithm [Section 5, source 1]. This is provided as
standard for all of their open-cut metal, coal and quarrying customers in
Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Latin
America. As an example of how Orica uses the MBM package, the Eastern Creek
site in Woolombi, Australia has a complex geology that had led to less
output and greater costs than the mine's owners were happy with. When
Munjiza's approach was introduced by Orica at this site, it led to an
increase in dragline productivity by 10%, a reduction in drill and blast
costs at Eastern Creek of 7% and an annual saving of $2.8 million [Section
5, source 2]. Elsewhere in Australia, in Hunter Valley, Orica were faced
with the challenge of blasting in an area that contained high-voltage power
lines. The blast designers needed to accurately predict the impact of the
blast in order to ensure that the power lines weren't damaged because this
risked causing a blackout in a major city less than 40 miles away. They used
the MBM software to predict the effect of the blast and to ensure that the
power lines would not be brought down by the explosions [Section 5, source
3].

Use of the NBS algorithm in Abaqus software
Munjiza's NBS algorithm solver is used in Dassault Systèmes' Abaqus
Explicit modelling software package, the world's leading generic
simulation software [Section 5, sources 4,5]. The incorporation of the NBS
algorithm into Abaqus has delivered economic/commercial impact both to
Dassault Systèmes and to their customers, who use the software to solve
engineering problems and improve their business competitiveness. The
incorporation of the NBS solver within the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
(SPH) method in Abaqus Explicit 6.11 improves the functionality of the
software and helps ensure competitive advantage of Dassault Systèmes as
market leader with associated direct economic impact.

Dassault Systèmes S.A. provide several case studies relating to the
economic impact their customers have obtained through the use of the NBS
solver within the Abaqus Explicit package (see section 5). For example,
this Abaqus Explicit software is used by Coffey Mining, a specialist
consultancy to the international mining sector. The principal engineer for
Coffey Mining, says that the modelling approach based on Munjiza's work
allows them to "answer a number of questions simultaneously, [allowing
Coffey] to work on the complete 3D mine geometry." This cuts down on the
time spent creating models and leads to more accurate predictions [Section
5, source 6].

Eni S.p.A. is a multinational oil and gas consultancy that advises its
clients on ways to better manage the lifespans of oil and gas fields. They
use the modelling techniques developed by Munjiza within the Abaqus
Explicit software to ensure that reservoirs of fossil fuels are managed as
sustainably as possible [Section 5, source 7]. "It used to take almost two
months to complete a single model suitable for running," says Silvia
Monaco, geomechanical engineer in the petroleum engineering department of
Eni E&P headquarters. "Now we can build a model in only four weeks...
Moreover, the new iterative solver implementation provides a strong
reduction in computational times and memory usage that further speeds up
the execution of the study."

Abaqus Explicit predictive simulation software has a wide range of other
applications including predicting ballistic impact in the defence
industry, crashworthiness in car manufacturing, and other uses in the
construction, aerospace and chemicals industries. It is expected that the
latest combined finite discrete element method as described in three
monographs will become an integral part of a number of generic and
application-specific software packages, thus further improving
productivity, reducing cost, increasing safety and leading to a better
environment.